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Opening with a Puja, a ritual of blessing conducted by lamas, and closing with the sounds of Karma Moffett’s Long Horns, the 22nd annual Himalayan Fair transforms Live Oak Park this weekend into an open-air market for art, antiques and clothing, with foodstalls and traditional performing arts from Tibet, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Mongolia. 

Founded by Berkeley resident Arlene Blum, the first woman to climb Annapurna and author of Annapurna: A Woman’s Place (now available in a 20th anniversary edition from Sierra Club Press) the Himalayan Fair is meant to recreate “all the good things,” the sounds, the crafts, the food of a Nepalese marketplace, “and, in the process ... provide sponsorship for grassroots projects in the Himalayan countries.” 

Booths will display Tibetan silver jewelry and coral beads, Afghan coats, Pashmina and other finely-woven wool shawls, tribal dress of all kinds, as well as hand-woven and dyed Indian fabric, books, CDs of Central and South Asian music, statues and images of deities of various religions. 

Half a dozen foodstalls will provide Tibetan, Nepali, Indian and Afghani delicacies, from Momos to Masala Dosas to BBQ chicken kabobs, with spicy chai and cool yogurt lassi to drink and kulfi, Indian ice cream, for dessert. 

Barbara Framm, fair committee member, said the entertainment at the fair will range “from Mongolian throat singers to Classical dancers from the southern tip of India--and everything in between.” 

Highlights, Framm said, include Shabaz (formerly the Ali Khan Band), Bamboo Moon Express with Mindia Devi, Vendhana Dance Co. (Kathak) with a special guest artist from India, and Dhot Rhythms (from Berkeley) dancing the vigorous Panjabi Bhangra to drumming. Kalanjali Dances of India will perform Sunday, as well as Vishnu Tattva Das’ Odissi Vilas dance company. Local Tibetan and Nepalese community groups (TANC and NANC) and Global International Exchange Nepal will also provide music and dance from these Himalayan countries. 

“It’s just like a big party,” Framm said. “Everybody eating, listening to the music, strolling while looking at beautiful things on display ... people are sure to meet others they haven’t seen all year—a community of those who’ve been coming for 20 years.”  

Proceeds from the fair are donated to projects in the countries represented. Last year, over $31,000 went to over a dozen orphanages, schools, clinics, job-training programs and cultural services in South and Central Asia. The fair is put together by a part-volunteer effort of the local Tibetan and Nepali community. Last year, a Nepalese boy from an orphanage in Kham that receives support from fair proceeds came to participate, and to thank his benefactors. 

The fair is wheelchair accessible with facilities for the disabled. A free, decorated shuttlebus will run between North Berkeley BART and the Fair from noon, ending at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 5 p.m. Sunday. Sponsors for the Himalayan Fair include the City of Berkeley, Downtown Berkeley Association, North Shattuck Association and KPFA. 

As Katherine Kunhiraman puts it: “Continuous entertainment, blending professional and community groups—and almost the entirety of ticket sales go to grassroots organizations. This is the best deal in town. One dollar is a lot of rupees!” 

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